Both Addictive and Electric
by Eryis
Summary: After finishing filming for the final season of the fantasy series Fairy Tail, Laxus finds himself at a party. Across the dancefloor is Freed, a co-star and a man who Laxus respects more than any other actor. But his feelings are more than just respect, and the space separating them is an ocean, but Laxus wants to change that. He just needs some time. And courage. [Fraxus One Shot]


**Both Addictive and Electric**

"Well, I'm sure you were bored of my voice before this even started," Makarov spoke into the microphone, getting a chuckle from the crowd. "So I'll end it here. Have a fun night, drink well, and don't do anything that'll get you in tomorrow's papers."

A cheer went through the room, and Laxus raised his glass of champagne into the air in solidarity. He was attending the wrap party for Fairy Tail's latest series, in which Laxus was a main actor. The show was a high budget, large scale fantasy drama that had been on the air for years. It had managed to shake off the comparisons to Game of Thrones and was standing strong with its own passionate audience. It was one of Laxus' largest rolls, and he was proud of the show and what he had contributed to it.

Laxus had been relatively famous since he was young, thanks to his grandfather being a well-known producer. He had been the embodiment of spoiled celebrity kid, so his grandfather had ended up refusing to give him parts based off his behaviour. After years of getting smaller parts on crappy shows, he and his grandfather made up and Laxus got an audition for a small part in Fairy Tail.

His part sort of… exploded.

Originally he was just a war general. Not overly important, more of an antagonistic rival character for the protagonist to overcome. The character got peoples attention in the first season, so he got more screen time in season two. This came with a narrative arc focused around a member of the royal family, who his character had a rivalry with. People responded well to this, and both his character and the prince were promoted to the main cast from that point. It was the best roll that he had worked for himself, and he was proud of his work.

Although he couldn't claim all the credit. He wouldn't have gotten there without Freed.

Freed played the prince and had done so perfectly. The antagonistic rivalry between the two of them – ranging from butting heads on small things to full on fights – were some of the best acting Laxus had done. When together, they dominated any scene, and somehow had managed to get along well behind the scenes without difficulty, which apparently showed in their performances. One review claimed they had an electric, addictive chemistry together.

Even thinking of the man, Laxus looked towards him.

Freed was on the other side of the dance floor. He was speaking with Mirajane – one of the lead directors of the show – and looked amazing. Laxus rarely saw him in formalwear, as both their characters mainly wore ruined clothes and were covered in dirt and blood for their story this year, and to see him so clean cut was amazing. The blonde had forgotten how good his co-star looked in a suit, and now was a cruel reminder of the fact.

His attraction to the man wasn't ideal. Laxus wasn't insecure about his sexuality, he couldn't care less. But he and Freed had some scenes that put them in less than brilliant situations if one had a crush on the other. Lots of intense arguments where they ended up face to face, quite closely; occasional falling against each other in battle scenes in positions that were somewhat compromising; and on one occasion they had to bathe in a fairly small river beside one another. That was not Laxus' favourite scene to film.

Mirajane didn't help, insisting they needed a tighter shot and that they should get closer. She knew – Laxus wasn't sure how, but she knew.

But now, their work relationship was over. The season marked the end of Fairy Tail, and therefore he and Freed would no longer be working together. It was inevitable, and it wasn't as if they would never see each other again. But they weren't going to be spending most of their days together anymore. And that wasn't the nicest feeling in the world.

As if to contrast his melancholy, a burst of laughter filled the room.

Laxus looked to the source and saw most people watching a large screen, wherein Gildarts was waist deep in a decorative fountain, and Natsu was laughing madly at him for falling in. The blooper reel had begun then; Laxus hadn't realised. He shifted his seat so that he could better watch the screen – it was cheap entertainment, but funny.

For whatever reason, the editor had put the bloopers in order of plot lines. First all the clips containing Natsu and Lucy, the main characters; then the side plot surrounding Gajeel's character; then Levy's. As a clip of Jet stumbling over a line for the fifth time ended, Laxus had finished his drink and was picking at a plate of nachos that were on his table. The next clip was familiar to him – it was located in the castle set that he and Freed had done some of their scenes in. So it was time for their bloopers now.

The first few were fairly conventional. A side actor unable to get out a line, the camera operator accidentally walking backwards into a wall during a shot, and a few other small things put in there to fill in time.

When one scene started to play, Laxus rolled his eyes but grinned. He knew the clip, it was from a scene shared by both he and Freed, where their characters were arguing viciously. On cue, with their face's inches from each other, Laxus made the mistake that Freed still refused to let him live down. Saying Freed's actual name rather than his characters'.

The second Freed heard his own name, his face quickly turned from his character's anger to his own smugness. He raised his eyebrow, smirked, and Laxus' heartbeat increased. This happened both when they filmed the scene as well as when Laxus watched it back.

"Excuse me?" Freed had said, smirking as Laxus groaned.

"Shut up," The blonde grunted.

"No, I don't think I will," Freed continued, not stepping back from their close position. "Because Laxus Dreyar- my apologies. Award winning actor, Laxus Dreyar."

"You're such a dick," Laxus chuckled.

"Has forgotten the key principal of acting," Freed kept going. "That there's a little difference between actors and their characters."

Laxus watched as he pushed Freed's face away on the screen before the clips went to whatever the next blooper was. The blonde paid no mind to it, letting his gaze drift to Freed again, who was laughing as he watched the clips with everyone else. The light was hitting him just right and he looked practically angelic, and it left a dullness in his stomach. Even despite the music and the sound of the video, Laxus could basically hear the sound of Freed's velvet laugh. Maybe he was imagining it.

With a small sigh, he picked up the half-drunk beer he'd abandoned when the champagne had been handed out and stood up. He looked to Bickslow, who was sitting on the table with him.

"I'm gonna get some air."

"Sure," Bickslow smiled, and it was perhaps sympathetic. Bickslow was one of the few people Laxus had told about his attraction to Freed.

The blonde gave him a short nod and made his way out of the event room. He followed the signs to the fire exit and opened the door, walking out onto the metal balcony that made up the fire escape. He leant on it, cradling the beer in his hand and looking up at the sky. It was a cloudless night, meaning he had an unhindered view of the stars that hung above him. It looked pretty nice, even Laxus could admit.

Somewhat melodramatic though.

He drained his beer, a sense of sadness filling him. It was an odd feeling. Not only was he not going to see Freed as much as he would like, he was saying goodbye to the show. He'd been working on it for years, had gotten close to both the cast and crew, and it basically all over now. This hadn't happened in Laxus' career yet, and he didn't really know how to deal with it.

But, after draining his beer did nothing, he turned to the pack of cigarettes in his jacket pocket. A habit he really needed to stop.

"You do know the tabloids will destroy you if they find out you do this."

Laxus' head shot around at Freed's voice, and he saw the man walking towards him with a small smile on his face. Equal parts teasing and soft; an expression only Freed could manage to create. Laxus took a single drag of the cigarette before stubbing it out and flicking it into a drain; it was just rude to smoke in Freed's face.

"I barely have one a month, hardly news," Laxus shrugged, looking over the balcony again. Freed joined him, leaning against the railing beside him.

"I think the people who wrote the multiple articles about you in men's health would disagree," Freed chuckled, and Laxus flushed a little. He'd been forced to model for that magazine five times now, being on the front cover three times. "What's wrong, Laxus?"

There was no point in arguing, but he would anyway.

"Who says anything wrong?"

"There's an open bar which you've barely used. You've smoked, which you only do when you're either stressed or sad, and you're leaning on a railing in the middle of winter when you could be inside watching a video of your co-workers making asses out of themselves."

"Smartass," Laxus muttered.

"Yes," Freed agreed, and Laxus chuckled. "So, I ask again, what's wrong?"

"Just feeling a little shit, you know," Laxus sighed. "First time saying goodbye to something I actually cared about. Not really sure how to deal with it properly."

"I can understand that. It's not a pleasant prospect," Freed nodded a little, then looked towards him. "But we still have some time left. And I've no doubt you'll be redubbing your lines when it comes to ADR, because you still haven't learned not to mumble half of your lines."

"Fuck off," Laxus grinned, but didn't deny the claim. "But yeah, I guess so. Just won't be the same, though."

"In what way, exactly?" Freed asked, and Laxus sighed.

He wanted to tell Freed. Tell him that he was going to miss spending time with him. Wanted to tell him their time in makeup was a highlight of Laxus' days for months because they got to be themselves and have fun with each other. Wanted to tell him that if he had even a little bit more confidence that he would be taking him out to his favourite burger place or sushi bar or whatever right now on their first date. Of course he couldn't say all that, so he just shrugged.

Freed looked at him for a little while but didn't say anything. He looked over the balcony with a content expression on his features, and it took a lot of restraint on Laxus' part not to ogle him. Because he really was a handsome man; unfairly so.

"You know, given your fame for playing stoic characters," Freed began, seemingly out of nowhere. "You're awfully easy to read."

"What does that mean?" Laxus asked, a little cautious.

"It means I'm going to miss you too," Freed said, tone a little soft. He shifted slightly and Laxus could feel his forearm resting against Freed's. That must have been intentional. "But if you think I'm doing the press tour with anyone but you you're incredibly mistaken."

A sense of giddiness filled Laxus, and he blushed a little at the sensation. He smiled a little but continued to look forward.

"And what if I wanna do it with someone else?"

"Well they pair us up by storyline, so the only other people you could pair with would be Bickslow or Ever," Freed chuckled. "Could you handle spending days alone with them in an un-air-conditioned room answering the same question hundreds of times?"

"And you can make it more tolerable, huh?" Laxus nudged Freed with his shoulder. "How d'you plan on doing that?"

Freed seemed to think for a moment. "How willing are you to piss off your grandfather?"

"Spent most of my teenage years doing it, why?" Laxus asked with a frown.

"Because he explicitly told us not to do anything that might get us in the tabloids," Freed had a small smirk on his face, and Laxus couldn't help the small thrill that ran through him. "And, I imagine that this would make the papers eventually."

"You gonna flash the cameraman or something?" Laxus chuckled, and Freed laughed.

"Get me another beer and I'll consider it," Freed grinned. "But actually, I want to take you to dinner tomorrow night."

"To dinner?"

"As a date, Laxus," Freed clarified, now looking directly at Laxus. The blonde felt his heart stop at the words. "Because, as fun as it's been dancing around it, the fact is I like you. I had made enough excuses as to why I shouldn't ask you out, and I'm done with it. So, Mr Dreyar, would you like to attend a press tour with someone you've been on a date on?"

Laxus waited a moment, to process, before he grinned. "Fuck yeah I would."

"Good," Freed said, and he was smiling. No smirk or grin in sight, and it made Laxus warm inside. "Now, are you still planning on spending the rest of the night out here. Because if you are then I'll inevitably be the one tasked with brining your slice of cake to you and I don't think I have the energy to fend Natsu off while doing it so you might not get any."

"Wow, you ain't willing to fight a guy so I can have some cake huh? Maybe this date ain't a good idea," Laxus teased, and Freed laughed. When he spoke again, Laxus' voice was softer. "I'll go back in a minute, fucking boiling in there, and there's too many people."

"Of course. Take your time," Freed smiled.

Freed went to walk away, but Laxus felt a sudden burst of courage flow through him. He took Freed's hand in his own and intertwined their fingers, making Freed pause and look at him with a slight cock in his eyebrow. How he had that much control over his damn eyebrows Laxus still didn't know.

"Y'know, if I'm gonna piss off Gramps, I'm gonna do it right," Laxus said in explanation, standing up and facing Freed.

"Meaning?" Freed asked.

"Meaning this," Laxus grinned.

He tugged Freed towards him, so that they were chest to chest again. Freed grinned back at him, still with that cock in his eyebrow, and Laxus didn't say anything. He placed his hand on the back of Freed's neck and pulled him that little bit closer. He leant down and closed the distance between them both, bringing their lips together in their first kiss.

It was fucking electric, and Laxus found himself addicted within an instant.


End file.
